Gov. Rick Scott announced Wednesday that R.J. Corman Signaling would be locating its regional headquarters in Orange Park on the First Coast. The company chose Clay County over locations in Georgia and Kentucky due to low costs and a stronger talent pool.

R.J. Corman Signaling is a newly formed subsidiary of R.J. Corman Railroad Group,a privately held railroad company that offers railroad, aviation and warehousing services throughout the United States. The company owns several short-line railroad lines in seven states -- Indiana, Ohio, Kentucky, Mississippi, Tennessee, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia.

“R.J. Corman Signaling in Clay County is great news for Florida families,” Scott said on Wednesday. “These 58 new jobs are reflective of the work we’re doing to create opportunities for families to succeed.”

Scott used the occasion to trumpet Florida’s recent economic gains. “Nearly 370,000 private-sector jobs have been added in just over two years, the unemployment rate was again below the national average in July and we’ve reduced burdensome regulations on businesses,” Scott said. “It’s working in Florida.”

Craig King, the president of R.J. Corman Railroad Group, praised Scott and leaders at the state and county levels for bringing his company to the First Coast.

“Governor Scott, Florida Secretary of Commerce Gray Swoope and the Clay County Economic Development Council have been impressive,” King said. “Their teams have been forthright, informative and decisive in working with R.J. Corman Signaling Co. to locate its southeast regional headquarters here in Clay County, Fla.

“We wanted close access to Florida engineering schools which we consider significant,” King added. “We wanted to attract employees to life in the Sunshine State. We’re excited to grow our operations right here.”

Scott was joined by Sen. Rob Bradley, R-Fleming Island, Sen. John Thrasher, R-St. Augustine and Rep. Travis Cummings, R-Orange Park, to make the announcement. Commerce Secretary Gray Swoope, the president and CEO of Enterprise Florida, was also on hand.

“Florida is fifth in high-tech employment, and ranks at the top among all states for employment in communications equipment manufacturing, Internet and telecommunications, engineering services, computer systems design and other high-tech fields,” said Swoope. “We are very fortunate that a company like R.J. Corman sees the strength in our workforce and has chosen to establish their new regional headquarters here.”

Clay County leaders also welcomed R.J. Corman to the First Coast.

“We are very excited about the R.J. Corman expansion into Clay County,” insisted Bill Garrison, the director of the Clay County Economic Development Council. “The jobs created are high-paying, high-tech jobs that any community would love to have. R.J. Corman is an outstanding company that has been growing strongly since it was founded by Richard Corman in 1973. Clay County is proud that we had the resources to meet Corman’s needs, and we look forward to being the home of the new Signaling Division.”

The company will create 58 engineering jobs at the new location with an average salary of $75,000.